Kongo somehow survived a vicous onslaught of punches from Barry and answered with his own crushing right hands, earning a first-round knockout win in one of the most incredible finishes in UFC history.

UFC on Versus 4 event took place
at Pittsburgh’s CONSOL Energy Center. The event’s main card aired live on Versus.

The tension for the fight was evident at the nose-to-nose staredown at Saturday’s official weigh-ins, and it manifested at the bout when the two refused to touch gloves. There would be plenty of touching to come.

After a few sharp low kicks from both fighters, Barry actually flashed a takedown attempt. It didn’t work, and he returned to his core skillset. A big right hand sent Kongo crashing to the canvas, and Barry swarmed with bad intentions.

Referee Dan Miragliotta allowed the fight to carry on, even as Kongo stumbled around the cage, trying to escape Barry’s wrath. It seemed initially like a poor decision. Miragliotta would soon be vindicated.

Kongo somehow cleared the cobwebs, returned to the pocket and blasted Barry with a pair of right uppercuts that left the heavyweight unconscious on the floor.

The intense drama unfolded in just two minutes and 39 seconds.

With the stunning win, Kongo (16-6-2 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC) remains unbeaten in his past three octagon outings. Barry (6-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) falls to just 1-2 in his past three fights and has yet to put together abck-to-back wins in his UFC career.

Brenneman outwrestles Story, secures upset win

It wasn’t exactly “Rocky,” but Charlie Brenneman made the most of a terrible situation by defeating Rick Story in unanimous-decision fashion.

Brenneman, who went from fight T.J. Grant to sitting on the sidelines to meeting Story in the evening’s co-feature (all within the course of a week), thrilled his fellow Pennsylvanians with an upset victory.

The two scrambled from the clinch in the early moments of that fight. Brenneman looked frequently for the takedown, but Story stood firm in defense until “The Spaniard” deftly followed a right hand with a successful shot. Brenneman worked briefly into side control before Story regained guard, but the late replacement stayed active from the top with punches to the body and finished the frame in the dominant position.

In the second, Brenneman landed an early takedown and avoided a Story choke before scrambling back to the feet. Story landed a few crisp straights against the cage, but Brenneman immediately dumped him back on the floor. Story tried to buck and roll, but Brenneman outwrestled him from the top, avoiding a guillotine choke attempt and grinding away with punches and positional control.

Needing a finish in the final round, Story moved quickly forward. Brenneman scored a takedown, and Story worked for a kimura. Shockingly, the fight was restarted on the feet, but Story moved immediately back into the same position. From there, Story switched to a triangle choke from top position. As Brenneman defended underneath, Story tried to adjust the hold, but the finish wouldn’t come.

As time ticked off the clock, Story scrambled to mount position. Brenneman held tight underneath, but Story repeatedly lifted up and slammed his head to the floor. Brenneman swept in the final 30 seconds, and Story looked again for a kimura. It wouldn’t come before the final bell, and Brenneman jumped to his feet to celebrate the effort.

Brenneman (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is now riding a two-fight win streak. Story (13-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC), fighting for the second time in just four weeks, sees a six-fight octagon win streak snapped.

Brown outlasts Howard, snaps three-fight skid

A highly-anticipated welterweight bout between explosive scrappers Matt Brown and John Howard didn’t deliver the fireworks most expected, but “The Immortal” did pick up a much-needed win.

The opened patiently on the feet, but Howard seemed to take the early advantage with slapping low kicks. However, Brown pressed forward in spurts, landing a high kick in the process. A missed knee led to a Howard takedown, though Brown briefly latched onto a D’arce choke. It didn’t work, and after returning to the feet, Howard answered with a slamming takedown.

In the second, Howard looked immediately for the takedown. Brown defended well and remained on his feet, even threatening with a standing guillotine choke in the first half of the round. As the pace slowed, it was actually Brown who worked to top position for much of the round. A Howard leglock attempt led to a sweep, but Brown countered with an omo plata in the final seconds.

A tiring Howard returned to the leg kicks to open the third, but Brown scored a takedown in the opening minute. He could do little with the position, but Howard was equally unable to capitalize when the fight returned to the feet. Howard did finally score a takedown in the final minute, and he looked unsuccessfully to wrench in a kimura in the closing seconds, and the two fighters were greeted with a chorus of boos at the final bell.

It was a surprising outing from the two traditionally exciting fighters, but Brown (12-10 MMA, 5-4 UFC) did enough to snap a three-fight losing streak and keep his spot on the UFC roster. Meanwhile, Howard (14-7 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has now dropped three-straight and may find his spot in jeopardy.

Mitrione outstrikes Morecraft, remains undefeated

A war of words left heavyweight sluggers Matt Mitrione and Christian Morecraft in a grudge match to open the evening’s Versus-broadcast main card, but it was “Meathead” that would walk away with bragging rights.

In the opening round, Morecraft came out pawing his jab, while Mitrione bounced around and looked to work through the reach disadvantage. Both fighters mixed in a few low kicks, but it was a Mitrione left that did the first damage, dropping Morecraft on his butt. Mitrione declined to follow, and the fight returned to the feet.

As the round wore on, Morecraft found some success with low kicks, but Mitrione again deposited him on the floor with a solid series of strikes. Morecraft was visibly wounded, but he did last until the bell.

Mitrione was patient on the feet in the second frame, picking his spots while avoiding his opponent’s countershots. Morecraft did earn a few takedowns in the frame, but a Mitrione three-punch combination saw his opponent’s mouthpiece slip out as he crumpled to the canvas. While the referee did not rush in to stop the fight, Mitrione simply walked away and held his hands in the air.

“Christian was a different risk for me, a different challenge,” Mitrione said after the fight. “We scouted him really well. He really stayed patient a lot more than we expected him to. He stayed patient and tried to engage.

“I didn’t want to go right on him when he went down. I wanted to wait a little bit. His lights were still on, but I figured I would catch him up again.”

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